Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Residents of a neighborhood in Mid-City Los Angeles were understandably surprised and troubled last summer when five Canary Island Date Palms disappeared from Caltrans right of way along I-10 near Apple Street. An investigation by Caltrans revealed the palms were removed by a company that (presumably) planned to sell them. A mature Canary Island Date Palm is worth about $20,000.

Now the good news: Caltrans has reached a settlement with the company in question requiring them to replace the palms. The planting operation, which begins today, should take about three days. Parking restrictions will be in effect during the tree replacement, so if you live in the neighborhood, please check the signs. We’ll post photos of the trees once they’re in the ground, so keep an eye on the blog for an update.